Ms Cliona Cassidy:

I am honoured to have been proposed as chairman designate of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, and I thank the committee for offering me the opportunity to present my credentials. I grew up and attended primary school in Saudi Arabia and returned to Ireland for my secondary education, boarding at Rathdown School, Glenageary, and subsequently at King’s Hospital School, Palmerstown. I graduated from UCD in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in business and legal studies. I also completed a certificate in marketing and French and was subsequently employed by the British Potato Council in Oxford as an export marketing executive. The British Potato Council is a semi-state body funded through levies from the potato industry. I was promoted after two and half years to the position of export manager. My main responsibility during the course of the two roles was the management of external international consultants. These consultants managed the public image of British seed and consumer potatoes through media management, trade shows, seed growth trials and government relationships. The target markets included Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Turkey and Lebanon. The experience of managing and directing diverse independent consultants and projects will be of use in my role overseeing the work of MCIB.

I represented the British Potato Council on the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs export industry committee, which was a forum to co-ordinate the international activities of a diverse range of British food and cultural promotional bodies and to promote excellence in exports through the annual export awards. The committee also offered a forum to discuss any difficulties encountered in international markets. I completed my employment in the British Potato Council in a consumer marketing role, promoting the industry to consumers in association with retailers and potato processors. I had budgetary responsibility in all of these roles, ensuring that limited resources were applied to gain the maximum or greatest result.

I returned to Ireland in 2003 and commenced retraining as a barrister-at-law. During my training I worked as a legal executive for Aidan Collins, an independent solicitor, and subsequently in the commercial litigation department of McCann FitzGerald. These were support roles which focused on legal research and case preparation. In essence I was responsible for distilling legislation and case law into key principles and clear and concise summaries. I graduated from the Honorable Society of King’s Inns with a merit and was called to the Bar in July 2005. While devilling with Caroline Cummings, BL, in 2005, I obtained experience in criminal law and judicial review. I gained further experience in 2006 while devilling with Marian Moylan, BL, and Carrie Jane Canniffe, BL, in family law and commercial law. I have a civil law practice based in Dublin and I predominantly work in the areas of judicial review, commercial law, personal injuries, family law and employment law.

In the area of judicial review, I have provided legal opinions and drafted proceedings on behalf of members of the Garda Síochána challenging the procedures in disciplinary investigations. I have also provided legal advice to the Chief State Solicitor’s Office on challenges by members of the Garda Síochána to decisions on the Garda compensation scheme. One of the cornerstones of the Irish Bar is the fact that barristers are independent and can represent the State and those challenging the State in different cases. My commercial work has included advising on contractual and negligence disputes and representing large financial institutions in debt recovery proceedings. I have also successfully enforced foreign judgments pursuant to Council regulations and the Lugano Convention. I have represented clients and insurance companies in a range of personal injuries actions, including physical and psychological injuries. I have also advised clients on bullying and harassment claims and employment contract disputes. I recently managed a team of barristers in a large electronic discovery process for a commercial funds dispute. I was a member of the family Bar working group, which was tasked with exploring the role of alternative dispute resolution in family disputes in December 2007. This included assisting in the drafting of a response to the report of Dr. Carol Coulter on the family law courts.

In 2008 I was appointed by the arbitration committee of the Bar Council to two working groups to assist in preparations for a conference of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration and a conference for young arbitration practitioners. These working groups were established to market and promote the involvement of practitioners in the conferences. Following an interview process I was then selected by the arbitration committee to intern at the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in New York.

During my time at the Bar, I have taught law to a range of students who have varying levels of and requirements for legal knowledge. I currently tutor on the diploma in legal studies course in the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. I also tutor on the barrister-at-law degree course, which concentrates on practice and procedure. I have developed and lectured an introduction to law course for final-year engineering students in UCD, which includes law of contract, tort, legal systems and health and safety legislation.

My experience, while diverse, will meet some of the key skills that are required in this role - namely, objectivity, independence and a focus on fair procedures. I was informed of the possible vacancy in the membership of the MCIB in September 2012 and submitted my curriculum vitae to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for consideration. I am grateful to the previous chairman, John O’Donnell, BL, and board for the excellent work they did in setting up the MCIB and establishing the current procedures. I am also grateful to Martin Diskin, Jürgen Whyte and Margaret Bell for taking time to discuss with me the workings of the MCIB and their vision for the future.

The MCIB was established pursuant to the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000 and Statutory Instrument No. 276 of 2011, European Communities (Merchant Shipping) (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations 2011. Its function is to carry out investigations of marine casualties involving Irish vessels or taking place in Irish waters.

The result of those investigations is to ascertain the cause of the incident in order to enable the MCIB to make recommendations to the Minister. The reports can sometimes make for difficult reading. The recommendations in them assist in preventing the repetition of such incidents. At all times, the paramount focus of the MCIB is to assist in the promotion of a culture of safety in the water.

The assignment of blame or fault does not fall under the remit of the MCIB. It is important that this essential feature of its remit continues to be promoted. It is necessary for the efficient management of investigations that those who are interviewed in the course of individual investigations understand that their purpose is purely to ascertain the cause of the incident. This promotes openness, which could otherwise be a difficulty. It is important to keep in mind that a whole village or community will have been touched by some incidents. A further key statutory provision is the independent nature of the MCIB, which enables it to criticise the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport if and when required. Independence in respect of a relationship with the industry is also important. I have no connection with the marine industry. Therefore, I am unlikely to be conflicted in any situation.

It is clear that the MCIB has very qualified investigators and knowledgeable board members. I see my role as providing independent leadership and guidance to ensure fair procedures are followed in the course of investigations. The prompt and accurate publication of reports is essential to the work of the MCIB. That will remain a key focus of its work into the future. In essence, this follows on from the procedures that have been established over the last ten years. The most recent published annual report of the MCIB, which relates to 2010, gives a useful comparison of marine casualties from 2002 to 2010, as well as fatality trends during that period. It is heartening to see a downward trend in fatalities in most categories, although the worrying increase in recreational craft fatalities reminds us of the need to communicate with those who are not necessarily working in the marine industry but enjoy the benefits of our access to water-based activities.

I thank the Chairman and the members of the joint committee for their time and patience this morning. If I am fortunate enough to be appointed as chairman of the MCIB, I look forward to working closely with the other board members and the investigators to ensure the MCIB continues to be run in an efficient manner and the paramount requirement of safety at sea and in our inland waters is promoted.